by Brenda Trim
Smoke filled Lorne’s vision and wrapped around his body before he made it two steps. It didn’t register in his mind that the smoke was the color of Angus’s dragon and a signal of his power as the Cuelebre King. Lorne moved his arms and tried to take a step, but he wasn’t able to move a muscle. His heart raced as adrenaline flooded his system.
Lorne looked up and met the light green eyes of his ruler. “Why? I have done nothing,” Lorne complained and glanced around the room. Cambree stood behind Angus with wide eyes and one hand over her mouth. Keira stood next to her and Legette, and the other males were encased in the same dragon smoke as Lorne.
With the magic of his people surrounding him, Lorne’s mind cleared and everything that was revealed sank into his brain. Cambree was in heat, and that was causing him and every other unmated males in the room to react. Female dragons only experienced heat if they’ve been identified as a Tuya and because there hadn’t been any identified for over a thousand years he missed the signs.
“Fuck,” Lorne muttered as the implications sank in fully.
Cambree was in for a difficult time. When a female entered her fertile cycle she pulsed with arousal and need constantly until her primal need to be filled with a dragon’s seed was sated. That most often meant days of constant sex with her mate until his seed took root in her womb.
Lorne recalled the stories about what a female was like during her cycle. She became a wild creature that demanded sex and took what she needed. Old stories talked about males being tied to the bed while their females mounted them. Lorne would not object if he had a mate that wanted to tie him up and fuck him for days.
Although, he recalled his father telling him how he barely made it out of the house alive after his mother’s first heat. There have even been stories of a female’s need being so extreme another male was needed to join the couple to sate her needs fully.
“What are we going to do?” Keira asked. As a sea dragon or Stoorworm, the queen was able to use water to help her cycle when it occurred. He recalled standing guard while she and Angus spent days in the cove near the castle. With Cyril still out there no one was taking chances with the royal couple. Usually, Lorne would have been the first to object to being that close while they were intimate, but circumstances had necessitated their presence. In the end, the couple spent more time fucking underwater than they did above, so it wasn’t as uncomfortable as anticipated.
“She will be staying in the castle where I can be on hand to help protect her,” Angus announced.
“What about her physical discomfort?” Trina interjected. Cambree gasped and looked down at her mother with her mouth hanging open. Her pinks had gone red now, but Lorne saw a sheen of sweat dotting her forehead.
“I will not have sex with some random male, mother,” Cambree insisted.
“Careful, daughter. You can only deny your nature for so long,” her mother replied and ran a hand over Cambree’s forearm in a comforting caress. “You will drive yourself to a state where you will beg anything male to have sex with you and won’t care who he is or if you love him. Once you conceive a child together, you are bound to him for eternity. I don’t want that for you. There are ways a male of your choice can ease your pain without risk of pregnancy.”
“I don’t wanna hear this,” Cambree moaned. “I never asked for this.”
Lorne considered her mother’s words and had to admit his cock pulsed with the desire to be the male to ease her through her heat. It was a biological reaction to the pheromones she gave off, even if it meant using his tongue and fingers to satisfy Cambree rather than his raging erection.
If Lorne recalled correctly, males could sate heat with their mouth and hands as long as the pleasure and climax were mutual. It was the female’s proximity to the energy males gave off that tricked her body into believing they tried. Not every coupling ended in conception, and they could convince her body they’d given it their best attempt. And, fuck it all if his body was entirely on board with that idea. Too bad she hated him after his fuck up.
“You might not have asked for it, but you have been blessed and should never reject that blessing,” Legette muttered, surprising them all.
Lorne knew the male had sacrificed everything for Khoth, and he had hope that the female he’d mated would be chosen as a Tuya, but she wasn’t selected at the last Civappu. Until Keira, no female had ever been identified as a Tuya after they were denied. The fact that the queen was rejected and later blessed gave some hope.
Lorne didn’t believe it would happen for anyone else. The only reason Angus and Keira were given a different blessing the second time around was because they’d sacrificed for a thousand years.
Keira spent a millennium under Cyril’s spell and away from everything that made her a Stoorworm while Angus was kept from Khoth and forced to live in a weakened state for the same amount of time. Their sacrifice for love touched the Gods and changed their minds.
Lorne often wondered what made the Gods select one female over another. Did it mean they were destined for a greater future or that they were better individuals? Lorne didn’t believe the later. Legette’s mate was one of the kindest females on Khoth and she was not chosen.
“I’m not rejecting the blessing, but I can’t allow just any male to have my body,” Cambree replied with a lowered head.
“We will not force you to do anything, Cambree, but understand without this you will be trapped in the castle for an indeterminate amount of time,” Keira explained.
“I don’t want to be forced to choose a male. If I change my mind later, all I ask is that you ensure the male is honorable so as not to trick and trap me,” Cambree requested.
“You have my word,” Angus assured her. “The problem for the moment is who we will have guarding your room. We canna simply put you in a room without some kind of protection in place.”
“There are no unmated males in the maáhes ranks,” Legette relayed.
“And the females aren’t done training yet,” Keira added. Keira had changed the face of their system since her arrival. Females used to be cloistered and protected and not allowed to become a maáhes knight. When she arrived, she pointed out how they’d done their females a disservice. Cambree herself was a perfect example of how they failed their females. She didn’t possess any skills to defend herself or fight off her attacker and would have fallen victim to him if Lorne hadn’t been close.
“How are they coming in their training?” Angus asked.
“They’ve made great strides. Some show great promise, but most have no desire to become knights,” Lorne shared. Before being assigned to Cambree, he’d been the primary one in charge of training.
“Are there any capable of fending off males if need be?” Angus asked.
“There are a few that could fend off males that work here, but none could stop a trained knight,” Lorne replied. “You will need to close off her wing.”
“Closing off the west wing will be simple, as will assigning only females to that area. Declan. Let the staff know as soon as I release you,” Angus ordered his personal assistant.
“Yes, sire,” Declan murmured. “And might I suggest using your breath to reinforce the barrier keeping her safe?”
“Aye. I had planned on adding a rune set with my breath to the emergency doors,” Angus explained referring to the massive metal doors at the ends of each corridor in the castle. Those doors weren’t installed to prevent males from getting to an unmated Tuya in heat, but to keep the royal family safe if the grounds came under attack. Angus’s approach was risky, but the only option to keep Cambree safe.
If Cambree went home, she would be attacked without question. There wasn’t a way they could keep her safe outside Tatenen’s walls. The obvious choice would be to keep males away from the grounds until Cambree’s time had passed, but that would leave the royal family at risk. No one was worth risking the safety of Angus, Keira, and Blaze. The Cuelebre’s survival depended on them.
Lorne wished ther
e was a way to speed the process or anticipate how quickly it would pass, but there was no pattern to a Tuya’s heat cycle, not even when or how often they would occur. It would have been so much simpler for them to deal with if there was a distinct pattern.
“Cambree is the first in this situation, but she won’t be the last,” Lorne said, bringing up a larger issue that needed to be discussed. “We need to have a system already in place before the next Civappu to ensure no other females suffer the same trauma as Cambree. No one deserves to go through what she has.”
“Och,” Angus muttered. “You’re right, but the next ceremony is a week away, and we canna delay. The realm needs it to occur as scheduled.”
“For the foreseeable future, we will use the west wing for female as needed. There are three chambers there, and the doors will be a suitable barrier,” Keira interjected. “We need to start recruiting females from training for guardian positions. We will need more than one capable of defending those in need.”
“I will put out a call to action as soon as this meeting is over and I am released,” Lorne assured the queen before he turned to Cambree. “No apology is suitable for how I failed you, but please know that I am sorry to the depths of my soul. If I could change those unfortunate events and take away your fear, I would. I hope someday you won’t wish me dead on site.”
“I don’t know if that will ever happen,” Cambree told him shoving a metaphorical blade through his heart. He made a vow then and there to show her he wasn’t the useless asshole that shirked his duties.
19
The smell of burning carcasses choked Cade and made his heart race in his chest. Raquel held him in her arms while Brianne held his brother, Cael, as they flew back to the compound. Given their abrupt departure and urgent race to Brushy Keep, they had no other way to return.
“Be ready. My gut tells me we are heading for trouble,” Cade said into his brother’s mind.
Ever since they asked Brianne to mate them, Cade’s world settled. There was no one he would rather spend his life with than those two. To share Brianne with his twin was a blessing rather than the curse he initially thought.
“You’re right, brother. No doubt that bitch is back at it. Better to hit us while we’re trying to put shit back together,” Cael replied. Cade didn’t miss the grim look that crossed his brother’s face or the direction his gaze traveled.
“We’ll keep her safe. We just found her, and can’t lose her,” Cade answered back. “Is that Nate?” he quickly asked a second later when a loud roar filled the air.
“Yes,” Cael growled then tilted his head back and yelled, “Something is happening at Zeum. Approach with caution. We might need to land at the lake.”
Brianne’s wings stilled momentarily, and they plummeted several feet before they resumed their flight. “¿Estás loco? I’ve had enough of demons for one damn night,” their mate shouted back.
“What did he say,” Raquel asked, her eyes alternating between the sky, her sister, and his brother.
“We believe there’s another battle at Zeum,” Cade called back. Brianne went tense above him before she blurted a string of curses.
It was a typical cold, cloudy night and Cade strained to see in the distance. The moon appeared in bursts and provided light, but they were still too far away for him to make out any details. Cade hoped the only reason he heard Nate was because of his supernatural senses.
It would be a colossal mess if news spread about a wild creature roaming Seattle streets. Nate was new to Earth and wasn’t accustomed to cloaking his presence during battle. Dragons were free to walk, fight, fly, and even fuck in their natural form on Khoth. It was handy to have a dragon on their side, but they didn’t want him exposing their existence to humans.
“Of course there is. Seems fights follow you guys wherever you go,” Raquel quipped.
“You’ve got a point,” Cade chuckled then sobered. “Don’t worry. We will always keep Brianne safe. She’s our entire world now.”
“I know you will. I must admit I was pissed when I heard you were Brianne’s mates. It’s been her and I for so long, and I didn’t want that to change. I loathed you two at first,” Raquel muttered.
The wind whipped around them, making it hard to decipher what Raquel was saying, but her words didn’t surprise Cade. He had the same feelings toward Cael, not wanting the male to take what belonged to him. In fact, loathe was too kind a term. Cade was ready to take his brother’s life at one point. He shook his head, relieved they moved past their ridiculous competition. Brianne belonged to them both, and he and Cael wanted to see her happy above all else.
Cade didn’t have time to respond to Raquel as the compound suddenly came into view. He could see Nate in the air, along with Illianna’s three brothers, and Crocell. The angels’ massive red wings looked like fire in the sky, and their swords of Light reminded Cade of lightning bolts. Illianna’s brothers were the deadliest creatures he’d ever seen. He always thought demons held that title until he met Ayil, Araton, and Abraxos.
“Head to the lake,” he instructed Raquel. She banked right, and his dangling legs nearly hit an antenna of a high-rise office building.
Raquel and Brianne lowered their heads and beat their wings with fierce determination. Minutes later, they were landing on the beach near their property. Gnomes scrambled across the lawn, along with, several of Hayden’s shifters. Just over the top of the house, Cade saw Nate hovering near an opening in their shield.
“Is your barrier visible because of the damage?” Brianne asked as she Cael ran to his side.
“Yes. Follow us into the house then head straight to the basement. The door to the secret tunnels is located at the foot of the stairs and to the left. Along the bottom of the wall, you will see a chipped stone. Push it, and a door will pop open,” Cade instructed.
A ball of fire blasted over the roof and sailed over their heads. Cade grabbed Brianne’s arm and forced her to crouch. That was too close, Cade thought, as his urgency to get his mate to safety had him up and running in the next breath.
“C’mon. Pick up the pace,” Cael urged as he stood and scanned the area.
A yell from behind made Cade’s head swivel, and he caught sight of Nate tossing a fireball. A Sheti demon emerged from the lake and was headed straight for them. The dragon’s fire hit its target, and the lizard demon burst into flames.
“How’s that thing still moving?” Raquel asked through panting breaths.
“Because it’s an amphibian demon with thick skin. It won’t last much longer,” Cade explained. As he spoke, the demon faltered and fell to its knees.
Rushing through the patio doors, the four of them hurried through the kitchen and down a long hallway. “Here,” Cael instructed as he pointed to a door at the end of the corridor. “You’ll be safe down there.”
A loud trumpeting rattled the windows in the house. “Come with us,” Brianne pleaded.
“We can’t. We’re needed out there,” Cade replied and kissed her hard and fast. When he released her, Cael was latching onto her and kissing her senseless.
“Be careful. We have a mating to plan, and I’ll be pissed if I lose you,” Brianne insisted.
“We will,” Cade and his brother said at the same time. They watched the females disappear down the stairway then headed to the front door.
Tristan was inside the house, peering out to the action on the front lawn. He was bouncing on his heels, clearly agitated. From this angle, Cade noticed the gates leading to Zeum were destroyed, and laying on the ground. Black patches dotted the pristine lawn. The gnomes were going to be furious, he deducted. Angus used to heal the grounds after battles, but Nate’s powers still weren’t under control. After turning the lawn bright blue, the gnomes insisted they take care of it.
A flash of fire followed by ash obscured Cade’s view for a second. “What’s the status?” he asked the newest male recruit.
It was more difficult for Cade to accept that Tristan slept with his mate th
an it ever was that his brother did. He wanted to obliterate the male for spending weeks with Brianne and forced himself to take several breaths, calming his possessive urges. Cade would have to control his temper around the male. Tristan had no idea Brianne was their Fated Mate. He was merely a horny stripling going through his transition.
“Crocell brought a dozen Behemoth demons, and they teleported right into our fucking shield. Zander is convinced Crocell tricked the demons by giving them the wrong coordinates. That’s why their bodies are sheared in half. She’s one cold-hearted bitch,” Tristan declared.
“Are the females and stripling safe?” Cael asked.
“Yeah, all but Mack and Breslin. You know they insisted on getting in on the action,” Tristan stated. “Now that you’re here, you can keep watch, and I’ll join the others. I’m tired of guard duty. I’m ready to slay some fucking demon.”
“Not a chance, Fabio,” Cade growled and rushed toward the door.
“Hey, don’t hate me because I’m beautiful,” the male shouted to his back.
Cade stepped outside and felt like he entered an apocalypse. The ground was covered in grey ash and decomposing demon bodies. Demons didn’t turn to ash like skirm, but they decomposed faster than humans and left behind an awful stench.
Every available Dark Warrior was engaged and fighting to protect the females and children. For Crocell to go to such lengths, she was without a doubt desperate to reach the stripling. Cade knew what it was like to be close to a sibling, but he would never comprehend her insanity.
Cael shouted, and Cade turned in his direction and spotted a Sheti demon barreling his way. The clawed hand was in motion and slashed out seconds later. Searing pain erupted as the demon’s poison entered his system.
Unable to see, Cade closed his eyes and snatched his sword from his back while kicking out at the demon. His foot hit something solid. He blinked several times, and his vision cleared, but the pain remained. Fucking demons, Cade thought.